I walked carefully over to Hira, a heavy tray balancing precariously on my hands. Silently I placed the tea in front of my master's wife and daughter-in-law. Hira looked down her nose at me.
"You may go now, Eliza," she said disdainfully, "if you give this to Kylan." She handed me a rolled letter. I shuddered inwardly. Kylan was the slave-master at House Groniger, as they now called my home. He terrified me more than anyone else. I curtsied, as I had been taught.
"Yes, lady," I murmured, and backed towards the door, careful not to turn my back to Hira.
As soon as the door to the Master Chamber had closed, I rushed to the slaves' quarters, hoping to find someone who would take the letter in my place. Sadly, there was no one. Not even Alexa, and she was almost always there. You see, the Gronigens almost always gave her time off, on account of her being mostly the baby maid. Right now, there were no babies in the household.
Dejectedly I trotted to the basement of the castle, where Kylan kept his office and disciplined the slaves. It was lit by spurious branches of candles than were constantly flickering and blowing. I hated in the basement.
"Who's 'ere?" A rough voiced barked from the darkness. Stifling a squeak of fright, I swept into a curtsy.
"Just Eliza, Sir," I said meekly, waiting for a blow of kick. Kylan grunted, emerging from the shadows. I hastily offered him the letter. The old man spat on the ground before taking the parcel with gnarled hands.
"Kylan, would you please arrange…herr humm…marriage…yea, yea." The Scanran's words were slurred and mumbled as he read the letter to himself. Finally he looked up at me, a grin growing on his grooved face. "Eliza," he ordered slyly. "Go 'n fetch yer sister. Tell 'er t' come t' me right off. I got something' t' tell 'er." Again, the awful grin. I carefully kept my face blank.
"Yes, Sir," I whispered, dropping into another curtsy. Kylan backed into the shadows once more.
As I made my way back upstairs, one of the villagers clapped in shackles in the darkness grabbed my hand. I spun.
"Never have hopes, Eliza girl!" I dimly noticed that he called me by my nickname. "Don't you ever have them dreams, or expectations!" The man ordained. "They only lead to disappointment!" He shrank back. "Disappointment, and wastin' away…The Wolf is never comin' back, and the Pup neither…"
I hurried away, not sure what the poor man meant. Whatever it was, I'm sure I already know it. All the slaves in Tortall knew it; Towlead was here to stay.
Because I had no idea where Alexa was, I simply went back to the Slaves' Quarters to wait for her. To my surprise, she was already there, perched on a cot and plaiting her dark-gold hair. Most people said Alexa and I looked exactly alike. We both had bright blue eyes and tawny hair, with delicate noses and a smattering of freckles. But I could easily tell where we were different. For one thing, her hair grew down to her mid-back, where mine stopped at the bottom of my shoulder blades. For another, she was a centimeter taller.
"Kylan wants you, 'Lex," I said bluntly. She cringed, but didn't waste any time. When Kylan wanted you, it as in your best interest to hurry.
With a sigh of boredom and fell back onto one of the two-dozen cots in the Slaves' Quarters. For a 'Ducal House', Groniger didn't have very many slaves. I suppose it's because they only have the remains of my family, the Braylans, and since my mother and father are no longer living, there haven't been any additions to my family. None of the other slaves, besides Alexa, were in my immediate family. We used to have a brother, but he died fighting off Towlead during the invasion. Now it's mostly cousins, and our servants from before the invasion. And there's Colin.
Colin is in his early thirties. He has short, tightly curled brown hair and dark green eyes. We're not related to him. He used to be friends with one of my uncles, I think. Anyway, he's very nice.
Just then, Colin walked into the room. He looked tired, and from the looks of things, he had spent the morning hauling lumber. There were wood shavings on his clothes and distinct red marks on his hands from the heavy ropes. He smiled quickly at me before flopping onto his cot.
"'Lo, Eliza," he said tonelessly from across the room. I sat up, leaning on my elbows.
"Tell me about the Accident, Colin," I asked, referring to Towlead's invasion. I could hear his bed creak as he stiffened and sat up. He motioned for me to come over to him. I eagerly did so, sitting next to him comfortably.
"You're what…thirteen?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, then it was about twelve years ago. Roald the Wolf was on the throne then. No one really knows how it happened, but somehow Scanran's Warlord Towlead started picking at our borders. Roald sent troops after him, but the Scanrans just kept coming. After about a year, they had started invading the border fiefs, taking everyone prisoner. Once Roald realize that it was futile, he fled."
"Then why did they call him the Wolf?" I asked. Colin chuckled.
"Because ol' Roald used to prowl around, looking intimidating. He could even act pretty intimidating, as long as he had his pack to back him up. But as soon as he was alone, he ran away. Anyway, we Tortallans thought that at least Roald's son, nicknamed the Pup, would come forth. He disappeared. That's when things got really bad. The Lords of each fief started sending out their own warriors and sons to protect the country, but Towlead brought all of his armies and captured us one-by-one. Back then, this fief belonged to your family, and your father, Duke William. You knew that though, didn't you. I remember the night they took us, as if it were yesterday. I was your uncle David's best friend. You girls loved him so much! That night, the Red Flag came onto us so fast, no one knew what was happening. It barely took them half an hour to gather almost everyone but your parents, David, and myself. Your parents were taken first, and David and I were backed against the North Balconies rail. I got hit with a mace, and fell."
"And David?" I asked in a hushed, quavering voice. Colin shook his head.
"When I woke, they told me he had jumped. It's been twelve years, Eliza girl, and I've faced up to the fact that he's gone. Anyway, soon after our invasion, the Red Flag was replaced by the Gronigers. Thar was only twelve then, and Hira and Groul's only son. Several years later, the Gronigers sent your parents east as some kind of bargain, but the ship sank, and everyone…drowned. Do you remember them, 'Liza?"
I bit my lip in thought. Some of my early-childhood memories included a blond woman and a dark-haired man, but I couldn't be sure. Suddenly the door burst open. Alexa stormed in, red in the face.
"That's sick!" She raged, blue eyes stormy. Colin jumped up to calm her. She shook out of his hold. "Do you know what Hira is making me do, Colin?" She screamed.
The man paled, afraid of what their Scanran master was capable of, but Alexa continued.
"She's making me get married, and have a child within the year! Our staff is dwindling," she mimicked. "Gods above, I'm too young!"
Colin narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He had always had a father's interest in Alexa and me, since our parents died. Now he was almost as mad as Alexa. I hopped off of Colin's bed and walked to my twin.
"I always knew you would be the first one to get married," I stated boldly. "You're always rushing in to things, always so daring!"
Alexa and Colin both looked at my in shock. A giggle escaped Alexa's lips. Soon we were all laughing hysterically. That's how things were between Alexa, Colin, and me.